1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an alpine ski boot including a rigid shell base overlaid by an upper that has a front portion and a rear portion provided in one or several pieces, the rear portion of the upper being at least partially pivotable in the rear-to-front direction and/or the front-to-rear direction with respect to the shell base, and including a device for latching and unlatching with respect to the shell base.
2. Discussion of Background and Material Information
The latching device is accessible from the exterior of the boot via a control member, the latching position of the latter corresponding to an initial adjustable reference advance position, from which portion the upper is capable of an angular clearance along an amplitude predetermined with respect to the shell base.
French Patent Publication No. 2,020,726 discloses the angular adjustment of the upper with respect to the shell base by means of a metallic tongue, affixed to the upper, having a free end provided with an anchoring tooth adapted to cooperate selectively with any one of several housings provided in a plate attached to the external surface of the shell base.
According to this publication, three successive housings corresponding to the anchoring tooth are located on the plate vertically and substantially on the median axis of the latter; thus depending on whether the anchoring tooth is inserted into a more or less raised housing, the upper of the boot slants more or less toward the front, i.e., its initial advance position with respect to the shell base is more or less substantial. Also according to this publication, the three successive housings are situated between two oblong housings, or lateral grooves, also provided on the plate and adapted to receive the anchoring tooth; thus, if the skier wishes certain pivoting freedom of the upper, especially for walking, he engages, according to his choice, the anchoring tooth in one of the oblong housings.
In this device, the activating metal tongue and the plate are arranged on the exterior of the upper and the shell base, and constitute unaesthetic protuberances. In addition, at the time of release of the tongue in order to facilitate walking, notably by placing the anchoring tooth in one of the lateral oblong housings, nothing allows the skier to automatically resume the initial advance position of the upper prior to release.